You have got to be kidding
by kanimakitan
Summary: Yoh wakes up an hour late for his training, ready to face his punishment but finds himself face to face with an Anna hugging him, kissing him and offering him breakfast..? Now something's gone terribly wrong. ...weird. YohxAnna
1. Chapter 1

**You have got to be kidding…**

First time to try publishing a story on the net, so please bear with me… reviews are gratefully accepted++

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King… and I will not, even in a million years time. ..sobs..

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**Chapter 1: Mornings with Anna**

"BANG!" The door was slammed open by someone who might have looked like a girl if only she did not have this unbelievable strength which was similar to that of a male. It was so loud that the thumping sound had awaken Yoh up and even his spirit, Amidamaru, from his terrible snoring. Yoh tried blinking his eyes for a few times to get a clearer view of the human being standing in front of him despite the even-now vague condition of his mind. He and Amidamaru, still unaware of whom they're facing at the moment, simultaneously stretched out and ignored the girl who was now looking at him with dreadfully arched eyebrows. "Hmph…" Yoh stood up to his feet in panic after recognizing that it was Anna who was standing opposite him after all. _"Oops," _he whispered under his breath while Amidamaru slowly drifted himself away from the two for he knows that … well… you know and everyone does…. that _things_ will be disrupted from their _present tranquility_…

That morning was no different from their usual scenario… Anna gives her Yoh quite an awful stare, hands on her waist. And Yoh, let's just say, has no other choice but to smile back at his fiancée out of the incomprehensible exasperation that bound his arms and legs together in immobility. You get the picture.

"Don't you have any plans of cooking breakfast for your fiancée? It's already 8am and you're late!" The messy-haired boy nodded in response. He was just too obedient to this overly assertive gal, though he never really pondered why he should be. He admits, sometimes he is just actually forced to do what she says maybe because of her stubbornness and bossiness but he can't deny the fact that... I guess, he wouldn't want to share that fact anyway. He was a second unconscious and another, he heard her say… "I don't want to have fish and ham for this morning."

He just gazed at the door as the figure gradually melted away soon becoming a hazy silhouette… then she was gone and his surroundings went all pitch-black.

…

"BANG!" Anna slammed Yoh's door open. If he just had any idea that his goodnight sleep was an hour over than it should only be, he could've asked Amidamaru to be his alarm clock that day. In his mind, he was already unwearyingly wishing that he could reverse time so he wouldn't be worthy of the punishment that Anna was to give him. "Uh-oh," he thought as he exchanged anxious glances with his power spirit. Breathing deeply, he stared at Anna who had begun walking towards him step by step, little by little… He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the worst punishment ever in the entire universe when…

…something gentle touched his right cheek. Then he opened them and now, he was face to face with his fiancée. "_Weird… what was that_?' he thought to himself again. Minutes passed and they sat silent in the same position. Only then did he realize that …_Anna kissed him_. Reviewing what had just happened, Yoh couldn't help flushing his cheeks and he was more embarrassed than puzzled by this so he barely managed to draw out a mild, doubtful smile for her. Anna, on the other hand, answered his smile with a very cheerful "Good morning!" and a very, very affectionate hug causing the guy to turn boiling red. "What's wrong? It's already morning! C'mon, I have just finished preparing our meal, guess what's for breakfast," she gladly exclaimed. "Now something's gone terribly wrong," said Yoh and he was sure of it.

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So I guess that's it for the first chapter… /swt I repeat, reviews are gratefully accepted including constructive criticisms! O I know the plot's a bit overused already but uhmmm… I just felt like writing a story as this… Thanks again for those who had the patience to read this! Hehe… bb! R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

**You have got to be kidding…**

**Author's Note**: First time to try publishing a story on the net, so please bear with me… reviews are gratefully and dearly accepted+

Thanks for the reviews! They really mean a lot… Thank you so much! smiling :D

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Shaman King… and I will not, even in a million years time. ..sobs..

**---------**

**Chapter 2: Honey, I made breakfast!**

"HEH?" Yoh could just blankly stare at the girl who originally in their reality, would slap, kick, punch and boss him around from that time in the morning and up to bed, but only a few minutes ago, seemed to have transformed into another person, kissed him, hugged him and prepared him breakfast… Oh, and did I mention kissed him? Oo

"CREEEPPYY…" Yoh whispered trembling furiously.

"Honey, I made breakfast! Guess what is it?" Anna playfully insisted on her fiancé.

"_WOAH… Did she just say honey? This is incredibly not true." _ Yoh couldn't believe his ears nor his eyes as the girl opposite him was now intently looking at him, a girl who almost appeared innocent '_Well, for those who have not known her'_. So he resorted to asking whom he thought could provide him with a piece of truth, something that was believable.

"Hey Amidamaru, am I dead?"

"I think not, Master Yoh."

"You sure?" asked Yoh expecting an answer that would chase away Anna's weirdness. But his loyal spirit could only give him a nod and that shattered one of his very last hopes.

"Anna, please slap me." Another terrible mistake. It was like asking, "Anna, please kill me." But he was certain that this was the only possible solution left to this puzzle… no, disaster! Unfortunately, letting this slip out of his lips made things more complicated than he had imagined.

"Why should I slap you?" Anna queried in a confused tone.

"Why won't you slap me?"

"Why do you want me to slap you?" Anna asked again, eyes nearly in tears. "Why, honey?"

Yoh felt a chill run down his spine. "_HONEY again?"_ For his fiancée to choose a term of endearment, her taste was just as mushy as how Tamao would have called him from years then.

"Well, uhmmm…" Yoh could barely talk. Anna was terribly grieving with eyes almost red out of excessive weeping. Although troubled by the fact that he was able to do so knowing her personality, Yoh still couldn't help blaming himself for making a girl cry. I mean, Anna's still a girl, right? So he thought of just giving up his explanation and comforted her instead.

Unknown to them, Horo had already entered the door and was closely listening to their conversation.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Please stop crying… uh…. baby."

Horo widened his eyes. "What the hell is happening here? " For a moment, he was befuddled then he tried to keep himself from laughing at what he thought was the funniest joke he heard… that Chocolove would never be able to crack.

"_What did I say?" _Yoh surprised at himself.

"UH…" –gulp- "Listen, I'm really sorry and I didn't mean that to happen. And… uhmmm… just ignore what I said and called you earlier." Yoh said as he smoothly laid his on his hands on her shoulders. "Please don't cry, okay? It's… err… never mind."

"You just called me baby, didn't you?" asked Anna, intrigued.

"I told you to disregard that part."

"That's sooo sweet!" Anna leaped in joy. For the second time that morning, she hugged him again. Only 25 minutes had passed since he woke up that day and a LOT… has already happened. What more awaits him for the next minutes, hours… days?

As Horo had seen the couple have their consoling and hugging session, he thought to himself, "_I must have entered the wrong house."_ After thinking for some time, he settled on leaving them and probably, he'd seek for professional medical help from Faust or the others.

Yoh struggled to break out from her tight embrace. "Let's have breakfast, it's late."

"Na-ah. Make a guess first."

"_Guess? I'm not sure whether it's her playfulness or sweetness that's driving me nuts." _Yoh gasped. "Bacon and eggs?"

"Nope."

"Cheeseburgers?" …his favorite.

"Nope!"

"What 'bout ham sandwich!"

"Na-ah."

"Can't we have breakfast already? I'm getting hungry."

"No you can't! BLEH!" Anna stuck out her tongue at him like a kindergarten. She may have thought that she was playing some guessing game with him. But Yoh couldn't get mad at her, not with her charming smile.

"_I think this was the first time I saw her smile. She's actually… pretty." _Yoh had his inner thoughts swimming through his head. "What am I thinking_?"_ he said, as he tried knocking his head away from Anna's smile.

"Okay, okay, you must be really hungry. But we have to wait for Manta first, we can't eat until he comes."

"Oh yeah," How could he forget Manta? He tried to make himself believe that it wasn't Anna who was concerned with his not-so-tall best friend.

"I haven't seen him since I woke up. He got up ahead of me. Have you, Amidamaru?"

"I haven't either, Master Yoh," his mighty samurai spirit said in reply.

"While we're waiting for him, can you guess what we're going to have?" asked Anna, still, cheerfully.

"_Not again…"_

"Pretty please…" Anna insisted with puppy dog eyes.

"_Good thing you're cute."_

"Onegai…" said Anna, looking even prettier as she blinked her eyes at Yoh.

Meanwhile, Manta was hurrying from the grocery store to their house exerting every bit of effort he possessed to run faster. He didn't want to know what was waiting for him behind the main door for whatever it is, '_It's not going to be pleasant,' _he thought.

When he stepped inside the house…

"Anna, I'm really sorry I went out without your permission. I bou…"

"Ssshhh… you might wake her up."

…he saw Anna asleep leaning on Yoh's shoulder. Manta found himself disappointed, yet, fortunate.

"Thank goodness!" he beamed. "Yoh? What have you got there? Hehehe…" teased Manta.

"A sweet playful girl named Anna, you'll find out later."

Then the whole house fell silent.

"BWAHAHA!" Manta was laughing his heart out.

"SSHHH!"

"I bet Chocolove hasn't thought of that joke before. Is that what being hungry causes you to become!"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Do you want the others to see the two of you in that position?"

"I don't want to wake her up."

"Okay, good luck Yoh!" said Manta giving his best friend a mischievous wink. Manta opened the door.

"YOH!" Horo shouted in excitement. He, indeed, has called for reinforcements. And he was more surprised with the scene now than before seeing that Anna was sleeping on Yoh's shoulder. Everyone dropped their jaws at the sight of the couple, including Ren who, as Bason was made aware of, had never cared about those things.

"_This is going to be a looong day," _Yoh thought.

"See! I told you guys, Anna's been acting weird!" Horo exclaimed.

"I like her better that way," said Ren.

Everyone laughed… perhaps, in agreement.

-yawn- Anna was finally awake. "Hey guys!" Anna greeted the gang as soon as she caught sight of them. All of them stopped laughing in shock, except for Horo who almost knocked out Manta, still cackling. "Let's eat breakfast here together! It's a good thing I prepared so much." Pirika was so amused that she darted towards Anna and hugged her then the other pulled Pirika to the dining table running. As soon as they left the living room, the others went back to their guffawing business again. This time, Horo was rolling on the floor. "Woohoo! BWAHAHA!"

Yoh scratched his head. He didn't know what he was supposed to do because he, too, finds everything weird. Just weird. "Guys, give it a break. Let's follow them to the table." They all went to dining area and fixed themselves around the table… all still laughing.

"What's so funny?" Anna asked, curious.

Everyone fell silent.

Yoh tried changing the topic. "Ne, Anna, what is it that you prepared?"

"Just wait."

Anna asked Pirika to help her bring out the food from the kitchen. Imagine… they were going to have salisbury steak, beef enchiladas and Italian honey baked chicken complete with chocolate mousse for dessert! The guys weren't just enchanted by the dishes' aroma, everything was indeed mouth-watering.

"Oh Anna! I didn't know you can cook! That's nice!" said Pirika.

"Can we just live here forever?" Horo exclaimed as he was about to serve himself with some food.

Anna called his attention. "HEY! Yoh gets to taste first!"

Everyone else was speechless.

Yoh nervously took a serving for himself from every dish. Slowly and carefully, he tasted each.

"So how is it? You see, I'm not really good in cooking so please, be easy on me. I'm hoping that you'll like it though," said Anna in her sweetest voice.

_Was that ANNA? _The whole gang would have probably thought. _Whenever did she get sweet? And she just said, please be easy on me. No, of course that's not her ._They glanced at each other's faces, all with the same expression – puzzled, shocked, bemused.

"So?"

Yoh was really surprised. As long as he had known her, Anna was no cook at all. He had never even seen her try to do it but at that moment, she was presenting him with a dish that tasted like a chef's cooking. "It's great!" Yoh said while he enjoyed his food.

"Really? That's very sweet of you honey!"

All the others pretended as if they didn't hear anything.

"Munch!" Anna initiated for them to eat.

There were more than a dozen of them but entire house was covered in dead air. They all had their silent yummy breakfast.

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Again, I'd like to thank those who reviewed my story!

That was longer than I expected. And it didn't turn out as I expected either… Hehe… I'd really appreciate reviews and criticisms, so just let them come in, ne? Thanks for your patience in reading this! Smile! Bb… R&R! O


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**: **Thank you for the reviews!** It was already Holy Week when I came up with what to write for this chapter and since it was Holy Week, I wasn't allowed to use pc… Haha… Then when I had the chance to, I lost spark in writing. I have a lot more things to blabber about not being able to update early. Believe me, they're not excuses. They're reasons! P So finally, after long days I finished this chap… is it a month?

For nightglider: I didn't know that. Thanks for telling me by the way. Just pretend that she had never done that before, ne? nn

-- To the readers: My advice is… to do the same as nightglider, pretend that Anna doesn't call her honey or other sweet endearments. That would be really, really nice of you. Hehe… Thank you! --whoosh!--

**Oh, I decided to place the names of the reviewers at the end of this chap in gratitude, of course for their reviews. Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman king.**

**Chapter 3: The Kiss…?**

The sun was almost directly scorching from above before they finished gobbling up everything the _new_ Anna prepared for them. Horo seemed not to mind the heat, not after eating most of the meal with his big, big, big appetite and Ren was satisfied with his own pitcher of milk that Anna, herself, voluntarily made for him. While some are busy minding their own plates, Ryu obviously kept his eyes steady on Lyserg throughout the whole meal with Manta - thinking of today's dishwasher, Tamao, and Pirika - asking and chatting with each other nonstop and finally, Yoh - half-amazed with his fiancée's skill in filling up his stomach and half-confused with who actually cooked everything up…. Then there's Anna, watching the others and his _honey_ as they enjoyed her first ever prepared brunch!

Anna tapped Yoh's shoulder. "Yoh-kun," she called softly.

"You called me?" asked Yoh, breaking away from his deep, deep thinking.

"Yup. Can we talk? You know, just the two of us."

"Ehehe…" Yoh sweatdropped. What would she want to talk about? Is it how her breakfast went? '_There's no problem with that. The steak was really good, and so were the other dishes.' _Or maybe when she fell asleep on his shoulder? '_She doesn't snore, of course. She was so cute, she looked like an angel!' _He hardly noticed that he laid his eyes on her as he had these thoughts running and was slowly drawing his face too near to Anna's. It was when she suddenly blushed that Yoh realized he was exactly in front of her fiancée and that they were only a tad apart from each other. He immediately yanked himself away to a spot that kept him from being uncomfortable.

"Sure," he told her, darting his eyes to the direction apart from Anna's present tenderness.

"_Good thing everyone else is busy," _he pondered in relief. _"What would she want to talk about? I just hope that she wouldn't ask why I nearly freaked out in silence after she kissed and hugged me, why I asked her to slap me, why I was surprised with her preparing food for us or why the others were laughing and laughing …at what's happening!" _ Frantically scratching his head, he mumbled under his breath, "_I hope she doesn't ask me about his morning." _

Anna left the table and headed for Yoh's room. She gestured for the young shaman king to follow her right away.

"Uh… Anna said she wants to talk to me. You guys, go watch TV for a while. And don't forget to wish me luck. And do pray for me. And …uh, just do what you can." They could recognize the tension that had started to build up in him while a sweat bead crept onto his side.

"Sure we will! We'll pray that you'll still be alive when you get out of there," Horo taunted Yoh smirking. He hadn't forgotten the last time when Anna tried to talk to him solo and then he came out with three lumps on his head, a double load of trainings and additional heavy chores. "_Sccarryy…" _Horo thought as he quivered inside.

"She's changed now, in case you have NOT noticed, and which I know is something that WE ALL HAVE NOTICED," Manta pointed out in a rather strident voice.

All the other guys fell back. "Obviously," they all said in chorus.

The two girls weren't disturbed even by Manta's impulsive reaction. They'd never run out of stuff to talk about perhaps.

"Yeah, she changed ALL-OF-A-SUDDEN!" Ren blurted out with so much emphasis on the last four words.

Yoh was getting more and more sweat drops all around him. "_This is getting worse."_

"Maybe you just miss the old merciless torture Anna enjoys giving you," said Horo in one of his successful attempts to piss off Ren and make him run as he always does.

As expected, he did. "KISAMA!" Ren said scowling at the blue-haired shaman. Too bad for Horo, he brought his kwan-dao with him. When did he leave that anyway?

Yoh blinked then found himself in their usual scene. Ryu had his head still tilted 180 degrees towards Lyserg who at the moment might actually be suffering from a stiff neck and Ren was now chasing Horo around with a glare even more fatal than his weapon and naturally, Horo was running away from him still with that cheeky smirk on his face. "HAHA! Ren misses Anna!" Horo exclaimed repeatedly.

Good enough for Ren that Pirika had her ears turned deaf as she was still busy talking to Tamao, not hearing a single word from anyone aside from the gal seated in front of her.

Yoh suddenly felt something strike through him. Was it what Horo said about Ren missing HIS Anna? '_No! I'm not jeal… of course, I won't be jealous!" _But he really had no reason to be jealous of Ren knowing that he was going out with Pirika so he tried to convince himself that maybe it was just because Anna was in his room, waiting for him and possibly hearing everything that was going on in their place.

The two continued to run 'round the house when Horo yelled, "And you Yoh, don't tell us you feel like this idiot Chinese missing torture training chambers!"

Horo appeared to actually know what he was talking about… like whatever it is that caused Anna to change was contagious and it had probably hit him this time. "It never came to me that you could be smart even for once!" Ren fired back at him. Fortunately, Horo didn't hear him and just kept on with the Ren-misses-Anna shout outs.

On the other hand, Yoh was in fact exactly thinking of it inside his brain, and he was indeed jealous that Ren looked as if he thought the same thing too. "_I guess I miss MY used-to-be Anna. Is that being stupid? She is MY fiancée after all" _

What the hell was he thinking? At present, there was this sweet thoughtful gal whom he can talk to without having to wrestle or argue with unlike before when he had someone to boss him around and give him unreasonable punishments and training.

He was just about to answer, "Well, I…"

"Yoh-kun," Anna called him again, still toned down.

If this was really the Anna they knew of, she would have already bawled at him ('ASAKURA!') and pulled him up by force. Yoh was glad that she didn't cause him physical twinges anymore so he went to his room right away then.

"Was that Yoh-KUN I heard?" Manta said, utterly surprised.

For a moment there was complete silence. At last, the Chinese shaman and the Ainu boy stopped while Tamao and Pirika gave themselves a short break from their chattering.

"That's just so nice of her!" Tamao and Pirika shrieked in chorus.

This time, both Horo and Ren tried to keep their giggles down, but couldn't that they're eyes were already soaking in tears of laughter. "YOH-KUN!" they both hollered. Then all of them were chuckling really hard, especially the two.

---

Yoh made his way across the room, inch by inch every step he took. He felt uneasy with his _baby's_ new character, with what she did that morning and with the questions that would rock his mind to oblivion only minutes from now.

He sat considerably far from Anna's slender body. Then she said, "Please sit beside me, honey."

He tried to look at her and find out if she was serious. Even if this was another Anna, he always had no choice but to do as she says. So he got himself up and slowly sat beside her (as she said)…but maybe, _a bit too close to her._

Yoh gulped for several not-so-normal thoughts were now streaming through his head and his heart was pounding badly against his chest. And to make things worse for him, Anna unexpectedly reached for his hand and held it like a three-year-old naive girl anticipating for security from her onichan. _Anna was holding his hand_ _and he could feel its warmth flow from it. _ _'Her soft palm against mine.'_ Yoh gulped another mouthful of air. He wasn't really sure if he was supposed to smile or to act innocent. His cheek was now beet red that he couldn't turn his head to face her and look if she, too, was blushing. He didn't know what to think or do anymore.

"_This is so… …. …."_ aiming for even a single convincing word.

"…"

Then Anna touched his left cheek with her other hand in a manner too gentle for him to handle. Anna carefully leaned towards Yoh, pulling her head closer to his in an angle.

Gasp.

She was just about to whisper to him when…

…he fainted.

-----

BLAG!

They heard something firm crash. The sound shook the entire house. And it seemed to come from the first room at the corridor, Yoh's room, where Anna and Yoh were to have their 'talk'.

"What was that?" asked Manta, worried.

"I bet that's Yoh slumping his face to the floor with Anna's punch!" Horo replied. Then he winked at Ren.

"Knew it." Ren said.

For the first time ever, Ren and Horo seemed to have miraculously agreed with each other.

"Do you think we should go in there?" Manta asked again.

"If you want to end up like him, then go."

…

"HAAHH!"

A shrill voice emerged from the room. They all rushed to the couple, landing their eyes on a terrified itako and an unconscious shaman lying on the floor.

"I told you tha-…" Horo stopped halfway after being voiced out by Anna who was now in panic.

"I-I don't know w-w-what happened! H-he… just… I-I di-…" Anna could hardly speak. Tears came running down her cheeks. This was a weird sight. Anna would never let her guard down, and her emotions escape from her but now there she was in front of them crying desperately. It seemed as if her tears were endless, perhaps, after all the years she had spent locking her feelings only to herself and bringing them open to others for the first time at that very moment.

They could only feel sorry for her. Pirika and Tamao approached Anna bringing her to a comforting embrace.

"He's not dead so there's nothing serious to worry about." Ren said as he tried to relieve them.

"He fainted that's what happened. I wonder why…" Manta was answered only by Anna's constant bawling. "Maybe we can talk about this later," he said, while a droop of sweat crawled onto his face. He decided to lead the gang to bring Yoh to the living room.

"Waaah!"

Horo stood behind Ren whispering "I never thought she could actually cry." Ren nodded in agreement.

"Waaah!"

Not one of them had managed to stop Anna. Not even the girls. She looked like a baby who had lost her lollipop. And she just kept on…

"Waaah!"

---

All of them fell asleep aside from Anna who sat by Yoh still waiting until she knew that he was in good condition. After an hour, Yoh finally arrived to his senses once again. He slowly opened his eyes and caught sight of his blonde fiancée teary-eyed. They stared at each other and were locked in silence for minutes. _'What happened?_' He wanted to ask her but did not do so for questioning Anna in that state did not seem rational, instead, he placed an arm around her shoulder and wiped her face soaked in tears.

"Waaah!"

Everyone was awakened after being disturbed by Anna's sudden wail.

"What the hell has gone wrong this time?" Ren said, peeved. He really dislikes scenes with too much emotion.

"Yoh! You're fine again!" exclaimed Manta. "What happened to you a while ago?"

He gazed back at them clueless.

"Waaah!"

"Oh, don't mind her, she's been like that for over an hour already."

"That's rude Ren." Pirika responded with an arched brow.

"Why is she crying?" Yoh demanded them an answer as calmly as he could. But if they made her cry, then no one's giving him a reason to be calm. No one.

"Don't look at us as if we're guilty! You were talking with her in your room then you fainted because of something that we're not aware of and after that, she started screaming and wailing then we fell asleep and now you're awake. YOU are the reason. So if you don't mind, tell us what happened!" Pirika yelled at him in one breath before crossing her arms.

"Oh… I-I forgot." He responded scratching the back of his head artlessly and smiling back at them.

They all fell back then some of them tried to hide their giggles. Anna was all pacified, tired after her continuous crying over an hour ago. So Yoh also felt relaxed now. He tried to remember what Pirika told him… and it didn't take long before pieces of the scene earlier formed in his thoughts. Finally, he remembered.

"Uh… what happened was…"

"What?" They all queried impatiently.

"I fainted, I guess."

"Yes, we know that but why did you faint?" they grew more impatient by the minute.

"Well, I…"

He paused for a while to consider what he was going to tell them. He would just carefully tell them what happened to him… carefully… carefully. But…

"But she was going to KISS ME!" Yoh recklessly blurted out. How could he say that out loud? _'No way I said that!'_ But it was too late. His voice rang over the house. They simultaneously looked at him both in shock and confusion. Speechless. And so was Anna.

"I-I…I…" Yoh stuttered aiming for a cover to hide his cheeks that were terribly blushing and to pretend that he was innocent.

"No I wasn't. I was just going to whisper something to you!" Anna told him.

All of them laughed, including Anna who was laughing really hard, hands on her tummy.

Yoh gathered sweat beads around him. Different emotions stirred inside him. Embarrassed for he was having bad thoughts that knocked him out of consciousness, glad that Anna didn't slap him and gave him a laugh instead, amused because of her laughs and smiles that he could only witness rarely and disappointed, why? _"She wasn't gonna give me a real kiss after all." _His answer was engraved in his mind. Yoh cut back on his thoughts and shook them off before anyone noticed the blush creeping onto his face.

---

"So what do you want to talk about? Where are the guys by the way?" Pirika asked.

"Oh, I told them to buy groceries. I know it isn't very nice to make them do chores but I couldn't think of anything else to get them out of the house. Although, I already made them buy some of the stuff that we need tomorrow."

Pirika, Anna and Tamao sat around the coffee table.

"Uhmm… We have to go shopping this afternoon when they get back."

"All of us?"

"Yup. Here's how it should go. First, we have to buy the stuff on this list then we will split into two groups." Anna showed them a long piece of paper with items of all sorts written on it.

"Since I trust all of you, the two of you, girls, will go with Yoh-kun and the guys with me."

"Why is that necessary?" Tamao inquired Anna.

"Guys know what's best for us and we know what's best for them. Uhmmm… I think."

Tamao and Pirika exchanged perplexed glances.

Anna drew the two nearer, whispering her plans in her softest voice.

Meanwhile…

"I don't understand if Anna has completely gotten herself transformed," Horo declared, obviously thinking with his right hand pressed on his chin.

"2 cartons of milk, check."

"She still had that bossy look on her face when she ordered us to buy these groceries," he continued.

"What is that milk doing in that list anyway?"

"Maybe it's for you, you're the only one who drinks milk here. What else do we need to buy?"

"My hunch is she's been somewhat possessed by a lost cheerful spirit but she has not totally overpowered her body. Hmm… Right, right. You agree with me guys?" Horo kept on talking.

"1 bottle of champaaagne?"

"How are we supposed to get that? I don't think they have that here."

"Hey! You're not listening to me!" Horo fumed realizing that he was actually talking to nobody.

"Are you saying something? I'm sorry, I really didn't hear it." Yoh said sincerely. Yes, he was sincere that he heard nothing.

"Why should we listen to you?" Ren shot back with a smirk. Horo just pouted in return.

They knew that Anna commanded them to go home early so they couldn't let any kind of delay, not even fights, emerge or else, if Anna had not completely forgotten her hard side, they'd be …crushed.

"We still have that champagne to worry about," Manta reminded them.

But Yoh coolly replied, "Let's just tell her that there're no available champagne in this store. I know she'd understand."

The rest of them shrugged. Anna and understanding simply didn't make a good match at all. But since it was Yoh who was to take good care of them, they didn't have to worry about it anymore. They trust him.

They all walked home wishing themselves good luck.

---

LATER…

"I think we have everything here on our list." Anna jumped in delight. She looked satisfied with what she bought… and when she said everything, she really meant… everything.

"We bought almost all the stuff here at the mall!" Ren uttered, he was getting irritated with the big number of people surrounding him.

"What are these for, Anna? A birthday party?" Manta finally talked to Anna for the first time since that morning.

"Nothing. I just thought that we may need them so we might as well be prepared. Right?" she answered with a smirk, winking at Tamao and Pirika.

"Yeah!" The two girls backed her up

"I think they already explained things clearly to you so now, we're going to separate into our groups and meet back here at the ice cream stand after we're done. Maximum time consumption is an hour." Again, Anna winked at the girls then they went in opposite directions with their designated groups.

---

"Why did you pick us to go shopping with you and let the girls go with Yoh?" Horo complained in the mildest way he could.

"It's like what I told your sister, you know what's best for us and we know what's best for you."

"Really?"

Ren pondered. Is that a fact? Or a mere assumption that girls come up with? That he didn't know.

The guys felt uneasy as they entered the boutiques because everyone couldn't help staring at them in a suspicious manner.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Ren whispered to Horo rather loudly.

Anna overheard it. "You tell which of these dresses looks best on me."

All of them froze. Their only purpose for going shopping with her was to tell which dress best suits her after all. What a sensible thing to do! _Bummer_.

"Are you okay guys? I know it's a little… uh… _odd_ but I trust you'll do good. You have my full trust in you." She explained to them.

"No… prob…" they answered back, sweat drops hanging beside them.

---

Yoh came out of the fitting room.

"What can you say?"

"Wow! You really look great in that! Anna will surely love that don't you think?" Pirika applauded winking at Tamao who replied with a simple nod.

"I prefer the first one you gave me, actually. By the way, why do I have to wear a tux?" asked Yoh, befuddled. "I'm not sure if I'm gonna need this thing."

"Anna says it's for emergency purposes. Worry not, whatever happens I'm certain she'll like it," Tamao said with another cheeky smirk and wink at the other girl.

"But I like the other better."

Pirika paused and thought for a moment. Anna told them to come with him to tell him what to wear and that's what they should do; however, Yoh simply hesitates to let them make the decision.

"He seldom attempts to hesitate so probably we should allow him this time," Pirika and Tamao settled.

"Okay, your choice."

"Yey!" Yoh joyfully leaped. He was excited to see Anna. He thought that it might be more fun if he had Anna with him and the fact that she was strolling around with _other guy friends_ made him more anxious. And finally they were done now and they were to see each other again.

---

At the ice cream stand…

"So how was your shopping? Pirika asked the guys.

It seemed that they have nothing to say.

"We had a good time." Anna cheerfully replied. She asked Yoh, "and how was yours honey?"

Yoh didn't know how to describe it. _"How was it? Odd. Bemusing. Edgy." _he thought to himself. "Don't worry, it was nice," he told her. _"Oh well, at least I came up with something to positive to answer,"_ he gasped when he realized that he lied to his fiancée. "I'm glad to see you again Anna," he continued. And the last statement was pure truth.

"We've been apart for only an hour!" Anna playfully tapped his shoulder.

"An hour and 3 minutes? It just feels so long."

---

**AN**: Whew! Haha… At last, I finished chap3! **Thanks for your patience in reading and for your kind reviews!** Keep them coming… **Reviews are dearly appreciated here I assure you**. So when is the next chap coming up? I dunno either! What does Anna have in her mind? That I know. And you will know when I update next time. **Reviews would be really, really kind. Gb! nn**

**Thanks to: **

**AzNAngel07**

**Holy Girl**

**The Girl**

**hannah-asakura**

**explicit-simplicity**

**rumiarumia**

**the namelesspharaoh**

**KariUsui**

**Nightglider**

**At Hannah-asakura: I really thank you for motivating to me to keep up with this story. Thanks so much!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks sooo much for the reviews …and the reviewers! Awww… They really made me smile this big! ('------') lol And for that, I decided to write a real summary of the story… I'm just happy! And I kind of feel sorry for updating after a month… Oh yeah, I changed plans on what to have on this chap… I thought that it was going to get too long if I were to place the "event" here so ended up with this.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman king. And I won't ever! Neither is the song Tourniquet by Evanescence. (I first heard this song from my previous English teacher. Nice huh?)**

**Chapter 4: Goodnight Anna**

Midnight was about to loom at the onsen grounds in a few seconds. It was a dark, quiet evening. The only thing present was the silence that draped within the house, slightly ripped by the frequent whistling of the wind. And then there was the darkness which overwhelmed the emptiness of the room, appearing resilient to the only person inside – a blonde-haired teen curled inside her blanket and futon.

She had always been alone in her room not letting anyone enter it, not even if they dare ask her permission. But at that moment, she seemed vulnerable to the darkness around her as if her being alone wasn't the normal sight at the place.

The clock struck twelve.

Keeping herself calm, she turned the lights on and she was finally at ease. "Now, I could sleep," she said to herself, just about to close her eyes when she heard footsteps. It seemed to be walking towards her room, getting louder and louder by the second.

Step. Step. And another step.

Then she started hearing a voice which echoed rather abnormally.

"_It's not a song,"_ she thought confidently. She was certain that the voice cannot be compared to music. It sounded more like… like… like a poem. "_A poem. But who would think of uttering a poem at a time like this?_"

It was getting nearer and nearer.

Fear dominated the poor blonde. Whatever that was, her only defense was the sliding door and her blanket which she covered her eyes with expecting that not seeing anything would make her feel better. But the voice became louder, tension growing more intense while her ears could make out something out of the poem-like echo.

"_My wounds cry for the grave…  
my soul cries for deliverance."_

Grave? Soul? What else does this poem point to?

"_I'm dying, I'm praying,_

_I'm bleeding, I'm screaming…"_

"No! It can't be!" She frantically mumbled to herself as she fought her fear.

Poor blonde.

---

Once the voice and footsteps were gone, she didn't have second thoughts and instantaneously settled with a decision before her own imagination got worse.

Anna treaded across the room, quickly shutting the door behind her, intending to stop by the first room of the corridor.

Run. She focused her mind only in running, after all, it was her only hope left and there was nothing else she could do but run.

Faster.

Then she tripped. "Ouch."

"Baka itako," she whispered under her breath.

It seemed that mercy had descended upon her for, at least, she tripped exactly in front of her destination.

"Yoh?" Anna whispered very softly by his door.

---

"Tadaima!"

"You're a minute and 12 seconds late, Yoh. Go make dinner right away, I'm hungry."

Yoh had just been asked, or more precisely, ordered by Anna to buy groceries for the week… just for the week? As though there was a time that Anna bought groceries herself! Oh yes there was, when he received the most dreadful slap from Anna which literally knocked him out for a good half day; therefore, she was forced to do it on her own. Only this time, he was given a time limit like his regular training.

Yoh ran as fast as he could with every stride hoping that he would make it in time to the onsen. But as the news came to him, he was _late_**… by a minute and 12 seconds. **No food ready for him then.

"Hai, Anna!" Yoh managed to send her a goofy smile, waiting for his fiancée to show any hint of pity or mere sympathy for such cute face.

It didn't work though.

"No delays." Anna turned her heels once more to face him, uttering every word clearly to make that sure the young shaman understood her command before completely leaving him with a scowl.

' _She's back to her old self again.' _He sighed panting heavily from his recent training. '_Well at least I know she is normal. I guess that's fine enough.'_

After placing the bags of goods in the kitchen, he went straight to the bathroom and freshened up with a light shower. He couldn't help thinking about the sudden change in her, from her coldness to unexplainable sweetness and then back to her usual cold nature. While a swirl a thoughts wandered in his head, he hadn't taken notice of time it took him in there and had somewhat **idiotically** failed to remember that he was to make Anna her dinner. And to think that she even reminded… err… warned him, '_no delays.' _So when he finally arrived to his senses, _"ANNA!" _he had managed to dress up **_quite_** **_negligently_** and paced towards the kitchen.

"_What's taking him so long?"_ There she was sitting beside the dining table waiting for her dinner. And Yoh should know that Anna wasn't the type of person who's willing to wait. "_He's going to regret this… I swear."_

Just as Anna was on her way to go to her fiancé and _finish him off_, Yoh arrived at the dining room.

Anna stood to face him in an attempt to throw him an ominous glare but was surprised by the sight of a… uh…a bare-chested Yoh in his boxers.

"Anna, I'm sorry. I-I… f-forrg-got. I'm going to cook dinner now," Yoh said nervously.

Instead of scolding him and sending him out the window, Anna felt a different emotion inside her. Was it laughter?

"_How stupid is this fiancé that I have?"_ She felt herself fight a light chuckle within. Disregarding Anna's orders should be everyone's top ranker in his list of DON'T'S and certainly, ignorance of this rule puts anyone, even her beloved fiancé, in grave danger. In addition, Yoh had just arrived at the dining room to cook her dinner …in boxers? Oh come on, this is too much! Too much that Anna had let out a minute smile escape from her, and that by chance was caught by Yoh, causing him to stare at her.

Realizing what she had just done, Anna regained her composure at once especially with that look that Yoh had on her. She noticed that it was _a tad too_ _odd_.

She tried to break the awkward feeling between them. "Because you were late with the groceries today, you'll have to do 2,000 crunches, 1,000 push-ups and 250-mile run with weights all done before noon and if you fail to complete this course, you have to repeat them, twice the load. Did you understand that?"

But Yoh didn't answer, not even a nod. He seemed excessively busy with his current business at the moment, _stare at the blonde in front of him._

A second later, Anna felt her cheeks heat up and blush.

"Are you listening to ME?"

No response still.

She looked at Yoh, ignoring his idiotic boxers and concentrating on his eyes and analyzing his stare, it seemed that Yoh didn't return the gaze she gave him, instead he watched her… _lips_? _ONLY at her lips._ With his full attention, mind you.

"What are you staring at?" She asked him, irritated, pretending to be innocent though she knew quite well what the answer was.

"Uh… nothing." At long last, he answered her but still his eyes had not left its target.

"Nothing huh?"

Yoh was able to give her a nod despite his stare that was possessively fixed on her lips. Minutes were running and he has NOT batted an eyelash at all since he saw Anna's rare smile. Wonder how he does that? If this was part of Anna's training… he was more than good at it.

"WHAT do YOU think you're DOING ASAKURA?" Anna was _unquestionably annoyed_. Her brows were awfully raised now.

Not a good sign I tell you.

"I love you." Yoh decisively replied.

Straight in front of the itako. He didn't even stutter. (A/N: Woah.) How he managed to have the guts to personally confess to her in his boxers after making her wait for her dinner… will remain a mystery forever.

And that look was definitely way damn freaky.

Anna felt a chill run down her spine. "EXCUSE ME, WERE YOU SAYING SOMETHING?" Her slightly red face altered to a deeper red, a mix of discomfort and anger in it. '_He confessed?" _she thought inside and Yoh seemed to have read her mind through her shocked expression.

"Where are your clothes by the way? GO GET DRESSED!"

I have no idea what has gotten into him but I assure you, he's not getting any luck with what he did.

"Whaaat? Where's my kiss?"

"A-SA-K-U-R-A Y-O-H!"

"I said I'll get changed."

---

"Asakura Yoh?" Anna called once more.

Yoh was sleeping when he recognized Anna's voice calling him. But it was different from the angry yell that was crying out his name just a second ago… in his dream. Yes, it was all a dream. A rather unusual one I suggest. He didn't know whether to be thankful or worried that it was not part of reality now.

He opened his door right away to see Anna whose face looked both pale and terrified.

"Anna, what's wrong?" He asked her with utmost concern. Taking into account the fact that she never let others see her with a frightened look, he thought to himself, _"She's even cuter when she's scared."_ He gestured for Anna to enter his room.

"…" Anna followed him but couldn't make a reply in anxiety. Lowering her head, she took in a lungful of air, glad that she was with her fiancée at last.

"It's not morning yet." He said goofily in his useless effort to calm her down.

"What's bothering you, Anna? I didn't forget to say goodnight, did I?"

Anna cocked her head to face Yoh.

"No, of course, you didn't."

He propped his hand on her chin and caressed it with his fingers. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Anna fixed her gaze upon him while she carefully muttered each word.

"Can-I-sleep-with-you-tonight?"

Gulp.

For a moment he paused then he realized what she meant as every single word she said sank into his **previously** naïve, concerned mind. Suddenly, he had noticed her entire presence just now, after hearing her simple unlikely request.

"Y-You w-w-want to s-sleep with m-m-..m-me?" He nervously stuttered.

Her face was covered partly by her untidy hair and partly by the darkness that seated between them but he was still able to see and penetrate through it enough to have a glimpse of her petrified expression.

"Yes, dear Yoh." She simply answered, the anxiety still present in her voice.

Yoh gulped once more. _"I thought I was just hearing things_."

But he wasn't.

He was confused with which really was only a dream for that moment was likely to become something more unusual than the one he actually had that night before Anna woke him up.

Yoh delicately examined the itako in front of him, not taking his eyes off her for even a second. Anna was wearing a very thin silky evening gown which by little showed her curved figure yet barely dressed her entire body. The somewhat _lucent_ gown clung onto her shoulders only by a lean strap of cotton and draped from her frame running only several inches from her waist high above from her knees.

Another gulp.

What was she doing? Out of the blue, she'd budge out of her room and knock outside his door wearing a cute terrified look in her face making him worry so much. Then she's going to pelt him with a statement saying she wants to sleep with him? And she even matched the scene by togging up in an evening dress that barely covered her body. WHAT THE…! "_Is she trying to tempt me or what?"_ Yoh managed to shut his eyes before _bad thoughts_ started crossing his mind.

"Are you sure, Anna-chan?"

Now he started calling her _Anna-chan._

_Anna-chan_ nodded.

Yoh tried to procure a logical reason behind her actions, despite the inexplicable state of his shattered brain. However, he realized thinking wasn't a smart thing to do. It only made his thoughts more complicated for him to handle… And he wasn't supposed to think _that way_. Just because they were already engaged doesn't mean he could… I guess Yoh doesn't want me to elaborate on that. Fortunately, he was able to shove these badthoughts off with the use of his _all-out endeavor. _

"But… but w-why?"

"Uh… Ehe…" Anna grinned at him rubbing the back of her head while a sweat bead edged beside her face. A not so Anna-ish motion.

"You see… it's… uh… I'm…" she paused. "Promise me you won't laugh."

Laugh? How could she think that he'd laugh at her when she's scared and when she's so darn tempting? "_Bad thoughts, Yoh."_

"Of course I won't." Yoh smiled back at her thinking, "_not at MY Anna."_

"I promise."

"Well… It's really simple. I was just… you know, how should say this? …Scared. Afraid."

Yoh waved his hands in front of her eyes. "Afraid of what, Anna?"

"Ehe… A-ghost-I-guess."

His eyes widened. Anna afraid of a ghost? Would that be possible considering the fact that she has a shaman who gets in touch with ghosts, for a fiancé? And did she not know that she is an itako herself? It isn't just right. Or has she really _changed _already? Maybe possessed?

"Ne Anna-chan, have you been drinking coffee lately?"

"No. I'm okay but I won't be if I'd sleep alone. So is it okay? If it's not, I guess I can sleep with Man-"

He had predicted her words and would really prefer having her by his side than seeing her sleep with his best friend -who happens to be a guy.-

Another strike of jealousy.

"It's fine Anna! I'd love to! Oh… that didn't come out. I mean, you can sleep here in my room. It's okay. Don't be scared, I'm going to protect you from that err… ghost."

"Thanks Yoh-kun!" With that she hugged him.

They arranged their futons next to each other and decided to drift off to their goodnight sleep.

---

It had been 30 long minutes since the couple laid their heads on their pillows and lied down next to each other while constantly spinning and swaying in their futons.

At last Anna stopped. Yoh was about to wrap his arm on her waist assuming that she was already napping when Anna turned around then sat up. "I couldn't sleep."

'_That was close!' _He also sat upright."Yah, me too. Ne Anna, since when did you get scared of spirits?"

"I don't remember actually. But it sounded really creepy when I was in my room. He seemed like he was grumbling a weird poem of some sort."

"You heard Amidamaru?"

"No, I'm sure it isn't Amidamaru. His voice seemed to be coming from a little ghost."

He was glad that Anna still remembered him being a shaman and that Amimadamaru is their friend. "A small spirit?" He never knew any small spirit staying at the onsen. "It must be a visitor. Don't worry Anna, I'll take care of you so don't be scared anymore. Okay?"

"Ssshhh… listen, there goes that weird voice again!" Anna whispered, fear dominating her body for the second time.

Yoh held her hand to comfort her trying to listen carefully as Anna had told him to. The voice was definitely getting close. It was kind of weird like Anna's description but it sounded somewhat familiar to him. No, very familiar. "_It was just like-"_

Yoh's deep thinking was cut when Manta opened the door of the first room at the corridor.

"Yoh!" Manta greeted him.

"-_Manta."_

Yoh looked at his best friend from head to toe. Yes, he was short… or in other terms, small. He asked, "Were you singing?"

"Yup. Why? What happened to Anna anyway? She looks so… scared? Am I seeing right?"

"_His voice seemed to be coming from a little ghost." _Yoh recalled Anna's statement. And Manta is small and was singing. "_I knew it," he mumbled. _ Who ever thought that Manta sung so badly that someone could have mistaken it from a ghost and wouldn't recognize it as a song but a non-tune poem? Poor Manta… Tsk… tsk…

"It's nothing serious. Let me fix this for a minute." He smiled at his best friend then got back on Anna who was afraid and confused at the same time.

"See? You don't have to be afraid. Amidamaru and the spirits don't do that. It was just Manta all along." Yoh muttered in his softest voice so the other guy wouldn't hear.

"Oh… He-he" Anna put up an innocent smile for the shaman, a bit embarrassed by the scene she made 40 minutes ago. Her smile grew into a light warm chuckle. Yoh laughed too. And Manta watched the couple share their sweet laughing moment with a look of curiosity and sweat bead beside his face.

Yoh turned to Manta. "She's okay now."

"Glad that was over," Manta gasped as he was getting more and more confused.

"By the way, Manta, Anna's going to-**sleep here**- tonight." He uttered crystal clear with emphasis on the two words and a you-know-what-to-do wink at his friend.

Manta, having understood his message, answered with a sheepish grin. "Right. I guess I'll sleep in the …uh… living room instead since Yoh doesn't want me interfering if ever the two of you are planning to do _something_."

"Something what?" Yoh asked gesturing him to go.

"Nothing!" Manta said in escape. "Goodnight guys!" Then he left them and headed for his new sleeping location.

"Anna."

"Hm?"

"Would you like to go out for dinner tomorrow? I mean, if it's okay. But if you're going to say no I'll still ask you-"

With his abrupt question, Anna placed a finger on his lips. She was really making his heart pound harder.

"You're asking me out…tomorrow?" Anna's eyes gleamed through the darkness, her bliss obvious enough for Yoh to notice.

He nodded for affirmation.

Anna nearly leaped in joviality. She looked really ecstatic with what he had just said that didn't forget to kiss him on his cheek.

"Is that a yes?"

"Maybe…" Anna gaped at his eyes as they sat next to each other leaning on the wall. She was certainly happy, no questions asked; however Yoh did ask.

"You seem so excited. It's not like this is the first time that I asked you out."

Anna's expression changed when she raised her brows.

"Ehehe… I guess this **is** the first time. I wonder why I never thought of doing that before."

"Maybe because you're stupid," she replied in a child-like tone, contrary to how she used to say this when she scolded him for being late in training.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I'm getting sleepy." As she said that, her head landed on Yoh's shoulder and she fell fast asleep.

Yoh watched her fiancée drift off to dreamland like a baby before leaving a tender kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, Anna."

------

**End of chap. Thanks for your patience in reading! I'd to love to hear your reviews – comments, suggestions…constructive criticisms… They're all gratefully welcomed! Smile. Gb! **

(0h, I wasn't able to send replies last time… )

**Thanks:**

:KariUsui: Glad you think it was cute and funny.. hehe.. thanks! Yeah, he was too shy in the last chap, but know what? Deep inside him he's really thinking of… -cough- harhar.. you'll find out when you read this chap. Trust me, he's not innocent! xP

:bittersweetness: it really touched me when you said that it was excellent. I can't wait too! Hey, you changed your pen name, right?

:hannami08: thanks! I wish I could make the next update soon.

:Holy Girl: I'll try finishing the nxt chap soon. Hehe..

:AzNAngel07: I'm really happy you love it… Very touching…

:The girl: Haha… I could hardly imagine Anna having tantrums! I bet she'd look cute! Haha…

:Rumia: I'm happy to hear that. Thanks!

:Jacksmith-notreally: thanks for the compliment. When? Hmm… I don't really know. But I don't have any plans as of now. Have no idea, believe me… But it was fun playing with Anna, ne? –evil self-

:Hannah-asakura: he-he… I guess he was. Thank you! Hope you'll like this chap… Yoh's not-so-naïve anymore.

:hachidori: thanks! Uh.. I don't think I'm really that good in English… he-he… Here's the 4th chap.

:Little-Anna-chan: glad you liked it. Thank you!


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